Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was full of praise for striker Sam Kerr as her two goals gave The Blues a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at The Hive last night.
The win moved Chelsea back to the top of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table, two points clear of Manchester City with only one game left to play. The Blues will need to beat Reading this weekend at Kingsmeadow to secure their second successive Barclays FA Women’s Super League title.
Speaking in her post-match press conference in which FAWSL Full-Time were present, Hayes spoke highly of double-goalscorer Kerr and went into detail on how she has managed to get the best out of her striker this season.
Hayes said “She is a delight, she really is. I’ve figured out the strategies that work best with her and when it’s your season, things go for you in the same way as it did for Beth (England) last year.
“The ball is falling to her, she’s taking responsibility for the team which I think is important and she does it again and again.
“I feel a bit bad not leaving her on to get her hat-trick but we’ve got other games to prepare for and I didn’t want to take any risks.”
Hayes went on to express her pleasure at the collective performance of her much-changed side. The Blues boss had made five changes from the weekend’s win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
She added “Whenever you make changes, it disrupts some rhythm.
“You have to rely on those players to come into the team and be able to fit seamlessly even though they haven’t played a lot of football and I think that’s the hardest thing to do.
“That’s why I made five changes because on one level you disrupt a rhythm but you have to understand that took a lot out of us emotionally on Sunday.
“I was concerned about what our response would be tonight because I think this is the hardest game.”
Chelsea’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League title-decider against Reading at Kingsmeadow kicks-off at 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon.
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